How to Secure Your Home this Christmas

Christmas should be a time of relaxation and enjoyment. For some people, this means spending time away either enjoying visiting family and friends or enjoying winter holidays to the sun or to the slopes. If this is the case, your home will be empty and with research showing that burglaries in the UK increase over the festive period, just what can you do to protect your home?

#1 Locks and security

From October to January, burglaries in the UK increase. During December 2018, there were just over 36,000 reported burglaries, an average of 4,000 more than at other times of the year.

When you consider that nearly 95% remain unresolved, how can you avoid being a statistic?

• Locks – make sure that windows and doors are locked, including outer doors such as the porch doors. This also applies to garden buildings and the garage.
• Vigilance – be vigilant about who comes to your property and why.
• General security – update your security across your home and consider updating it where needed.

#2 Hide valuables

If someone does gain access to your property unauthorised, you want them to get away with very little. It’s not a pleasant through to think of people rifling through your home but knowing they didn’t get away with much can bring some comfort.

• Hide valuables – from tablets to laptops, to jewellery and sentimental items, hiding them prevents their theft.
• Timers for lights and curtains – smart home technology is invaluable in helping to secure your home. Setting timers is a great way of making your home appear occupied but set different times daily for curtains to close automatically and for lights to come on and off. The more ‘out of routine’ these appear to be, the more likely people are to think your home is occupied.

#3 Home security

For burglars, the harder and longer they have to work to gain access to a property, the more likely they are to walk away without gaining access. The range of affordable home security measures open to homeowners is increasing;

• Smart doorbells – as well as acting as an intercom, modern smart doorbells also have sensors to detect motion around the door area. They can also record high-quality video so that should your home be burgled, you could have evidence of the intruder needed for conviction.
• Smart CCTV – again, CCTV has become even better with smart technology. High-quality footage of intruders can make all the difference, as well as sensors to warn when doors or windows have been opened etc.
• Calling for help – not all burglaries happen when the homeowners are away. A frightening thought, there is smart technology that allows you to call for help when you need it most. The same is true when you are away from home. You can alert police to an ongoing burglary at your home or even work premises.

#4 Enlist your neighbours

If your neighbours are willing, they can play an important part in keeping your home secure whilst you are away over the Christmas period. From picking up the post to parking on your driveway, all of these are subtle hints to passing thieves that there is activity at your home.

Consider other services such as;

• Royal Mail’s ‘Post Safe’ scheme – by keeping hold of your post, it stops it piling up at the front door, a sign that you are not there.
• Hire security – if you are away for a period of time, investing in security service can also be helpful. Passing by at certain times of the night or day, your property can be watched, preventing theft.

And finally…

• Don’t leave items out that a burglar could use to gain access to your property such as tools or ladders.
• You may be looking forward to your Christmas getaway but don’t advertise your holiday on social media.